Gulf of Corinth basin

These aspects provide a unique opportunity for scientists to study the tectonic and stratigraphic development of a rift, while further understanding how a basin is actually made.

It is postulated that crustal extension is related to a combination of factors: westward movement of the North Anatolian Fault, gravitational collapse of the thickened Hellenide orogenic crust, subduction, and slab roll back of the African Plate at the Hellenic trench.

[4] Subsidence is linked to the fault systems bordering the depocenters, which have quickly developed in the basins relatively short 1–2 Ma existence.

On top of this is seasonally flooded forest deposits indicated by organic rich mudstones containing leaves of Acer cf.

viminalis and Platanus s. Tabular bodied transgressive beach deposits are interbedded with fine-grained sediments and lignite, alluding to fresh-water lacustrine like environment.

[7] Overlying these are regressive beach type deposits, displaying large-scale foresets and a coarsening upward sequence.

This phase has a complex history and is composed of deep sea deposits and Gilbert-type deltas sitting unconformably on the fanglomeratic unit.

Present day Gilbert-type deltas form on the basin margin as the result of transfer faults perpendicular to the main extension.

[7][8] The north and south Eratini faults offshore the western gulf are 15 km in length overlapping completely, uplifting a notable basement horst.

A group of south coast landward inactive faults (Mamoussia – Pirgaki to Kalavrita) are thought to have contributed to extension in an earlier phase of the rifts evolution.

[10] It is hypothesized that extensional slip on E-W striking, 20°-40° north-dipping planes are caused by earthquakes beneath the northern shore.

Map of plate motions in the Mediterranean region. The Gulf of Corinth (GoC) is located in the eastern region and is undergoing fast extension. The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) and East Anatolian Fault (EAF) are currently strike-slipping. Adapted from Armijo, 1999
This is a profile view of the evolution of the Gulf of Corinth's basin. The colored letters correspond to the cross section lines drawn on the image above. Adapted from Bell, 2008
Map of active faults on the northern and southern margins of the Gulf of Corinth. The Cross section lines A, B, and C profiles can be seen in an image below. Adapted from Bell, 2009